A further lease on life for the New Afton Mine just outside of Kamloops.

A geo-technical survey has come back, showing that the mine site has enough gold and copper resources in it to keep operational for at least the next six years.

New Gold, which operates the mine just west of Kamloops, suggests the geo-technical analysis launched last year shows the company is going to be able to ramp up its output.

“C-Zone Mineral Reserves tonnes increased by 27% year-over-year [in 2024] with an increase in draw height to 450 metres, extending the New Afton reserve mine life to 2031,” stated the company in a news release to investors on Wednesday after the markets in Toronto and New York closed.  “These additional Mineral Reserves come at no additional capital cost.”

While also being able to maintain operations, the analysis also suggests that New Afton is poised to start pumping out even more copper and gold from the site.

“Today’s life-of-mine plans successfully outline New Gold’s strong production profile with reducing costs, strong free cash flow generation and increasing net asset value, while also highlighting exciting opportunities to build on over the longer-term,” said Patrick Godin, President and CEO. “Our exploration efforts translated to successfully replacing mining depletion of Reserves in 2024.”

While quite technical, the report basically states there is a lot more mineral resources at the current mine site than first anticipated.

The analysis would suggest the mine is likely going to see its production of copper and continually increase each year for the next three to four years before it begins to ease back toward 2031.

On top of that, the independent analysis done by surveyors suggests that when the current mine site dries up, there is still a lot of copper and gold available within the properties that New Gold has stakes in around the region.

“In addition to K-Zone, the New Afton Mine has a significant Mineral Resource base and includes exploration targets with the potential for conversion to Mineral Reserves,” stated the report.  “Zones to the east of the current block caves and above the elevation of the C-Zone extraction level have been identified as a promising opportunity to extend the New Afton mine life that would require a minimal investment of capital.”

The synopsis also indicates the company intends to make significant technical investments into the operation this year as well.

“Two processing improvement projects are planned for 2025 with the objective of maintaining or improving metallurgical recoveries at the higher throughput rates as C-Zone ramps up to full production,” stated the report.

The investment, expected to be in the millions of dollars, would signal an intent to stay at the site and keep working it.

Company officials are due to hold an investor news conference tomorrow.

New Gold, which owns the mine outright, began its operations at New Afton in 2012.

The mine employs over 700 people, making it one of the largest single employers in the region, most of whom live in the city or the surrounding region.

New Afton also holds the unique distinction of being one of the few non-unionized workforces in the North American mining sector.

Gold and other mineral deposits were first discovered in the area during the heady days of the mid-1800’s, as prospectors moved up out of the Fraser Canyon during the height of the gold rush.

Modern mining began in the area in the early 1970’s in an open-pit operation.

Run by a local conglomerate, the New Afton site was taken over by Teck in 1973, which successfully ran it until the early 1990’s before a series of curtailments and shutdowns.

That part of the operation was shut down completely in 1997.

However, better technology allowed surveys to conclude there are still large resources available.

That prompted a group of investors to come together and eventually adopt the current name New Gold in 2012 to restart operations in its current capacity.

During that time, the company was also buying up a large number of mining stakes in the region as well.

New Gold’s announcement on Wednesday also included the company announcing its going to be able to extend the life of its other Canadian operation, Rainy River in northern Ontario, after a favorable geo-technical report from that site as well.